


Why me, Primus?

by Kit_SummerIsle



Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: M/M, Mpreg, Multi, Sticky, Threesome, Trine - Freeform, Trine Dynamics, carrier, dp, eggs/pods, sire, spark-sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-16
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-08 22:46:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1138333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kit_SummerIsle/pseuds/Kit_SummerIsle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thundercracker DOES NOT want to carry. But he is the one who can... and can he withstand the cumulative machinations of Starscream AND Skywarp?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thundercracker's dilemma

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for a kinkmeme prompt and part of it posted on Lj kinkmeme. Now I pulled it up again, cleaned and somewhat rewritten parts of it, finished the fic and posting here now, since it is not even all that kinky. It was probably the first fic where I intentionally tried to go for a humorous mood - not really successful, but anyway.
> 
> The prompt was: http://tfanonkink.livejournal.com/11776.html?thread=12612096#t12612096
> 
> _Seekers pair off in trines because they're less likely to spark a sparkling without the extra energy. A trine is normally set up as two sires, one carrier. It's normally midrange-smaller seekers who are the Sire types. Due to agility and ferocity, they're more likely to fare better in a fight and are better suited to care for/protect the carrier. The carriers are normally bigger and far better armored, more ideal to protecting a growing spark bud growing next to their sparks._
> 
> _War is over and Starscream and Skywarp (our 'Sires') have decided time is come for them to start a family. Thundercracker (our carrier) isn't as sure and is extremely hesitant to carry even though he's the only one with the ability. Enter our seducing and wooing to get Thundercracker comfortable with the idea, followed by delicious claiming and baby making sex (and if anonauthor feels up to it a little mpreg there at the end?_

“No.”

“But TC?!?”

“I said no!”

“Please…!”

“NO!”

“Pleeeeeese, TeeeCeee!” Skywarp looked hurt “You don't like me?”

“It’s not… I mean I do, but…” Thundercracker spluttered as he tried to find the words. “The answer is still NO!”

“But TeeeCeee! I’d love you… even more than I do now! I… I’ll bring you energon and massage your wings and… stuff. Whatever you want!”

The black and purple Seeker was sprawled on his bigger wingmate, squirming suggestively in his lap, servos stroking the blue metal, while he pouted up at the stiff, uneasy Thundercracker, who was sitting on their berth, pursing his lipplates tightly together and trying to ignore his partner. It wasn’t easy. Skywarp was shameless enough to use each and every tool in his impressive repertoire when he wanted something and right now he wanted it badly. The blue Seeker avoided looking down on his wingmate, keeping his glance at their trine-leader, who so far hasn’t said anything.

Starscream looked calm, collected and unusually so. It worried Thundercracker even more than Skywarp’s excited insistence, because Starscream was more devious than every prankster on the Nemesis put together, with some Autobot ones to boot and looking this confident he had to be up to something. The blue Seeker uncurled the teasing purple digits from his wing and glanced down. It was a mistake. Skywarp looked up to him with optics like a starved turbopuppy crossed with a seasoned pleasurebot, the black Seeker probably the only mech in existence who could pull off that particular look; crumbling his resolve and enflaming his energon at the same time. He steeled himself, looking away hurriedly.

“You know, he is right for once. Much as it shocks me.” - Starscream spoke up in a tone surprisingly quiet for him - “It is only natural… now.”

The scowl was only a klik long on the dark faceplates, Starscream’s displeasure with the truce well-known among the Decepticons. He hated the way the Autobots seemed to snag every meaningful post in the newly forming government, simply because Megatron was completely hopeless at negotiations and Soundwave wasn’t any better either; one was completely smitten by the Prime, the other far too logical to be devious enough. The Autobots drove circles around them and only the noble spark of Optimus Prime stopped them from writing the Cons into a new kind of slavery in the treaty. That, and Starscream threatening to rebel against the whole thing before even the ink dried on the document when he discovered what was agreed so far.

But he was more careful now and hopefully Megatron watched out for the slaggers more too. That emotionless SIC of theirs was capable of entrapping them with words so seamlessly that it was sobering… and not a little frightening even to the shrewd Seeker. It took spectacular temper tantrums on his own to balance and reveal the fragger’s insidious ploys and nasty intentions. Even more time and effort to straighten out the treaty until he too could nod to it. But the fact miraculously remained that they were getting closer every orn to sign a hopefully lasting peace and there were no hostilities for over a groon now.

In consequence, every Seeker’s reproductive drive was either in its highest gear or close on its way there. Not really surprising that after being forcibly repressed by the war for millions of vorns, their coding took the first signs of peace to kickstart itself into a heat of spectacular proportions. Basically it was the main thing why Starscream nearly missed the first round of negotiations, resulting in a near disaster. But that too avoided, now there was absolutely nothing in their way of interfacing like petrorabbits with their sparking protocols fully engaged.

Nothing, that is, except Thundercracker. Sometimes Starscream envied Thrust for his stupid but at least obedient Trine-mates.

“Natural for you maybe.” - Thundercracker scowled and squirmed - “I feel nothing natural in it.”

Of course he felt the heat too. Felt it warming his energon and making his interface equipment tingle in anticipation. Fragging has never been this good, since it all started. Why, it wasn’t a full orn ago that they nearly crashed into a Human town because it was so fragging good that all of them - even Starscream! – forgot to have a look at their altimeters. Thundercracker would never forget the looks on the faces of those tiny humans, running for their lives but looking up with eyes bulging in shocked… _envy?_ at the three huge frames rutting over their heads like overgrown gyrofalcons in heat.

“Okay, I give you that…” - Starscream answered soothingly - “It would be your first time, I know. It is not that easy to wrap your processor around. Let’s drop it for now, okay?”

Thundercracker hardly even got over the surprise of hearing his selfish, conceited trine-leader conceding his point that easily before a sky blue servo started to soothingly massage his wings, making him fall into the next shock headfirst. It wasn’t even sensual, wasn’t arousing and only very slightly claiming, just calming and… _nice_. Which wasn’t a word he usually associated with Starscream. It should have roused his suspicion but it was too good to feel anything else but the comforting touch. 

“But I wanna…!”

“Quiet, Warp. We shouldn’t pressure TC into it.”

The servos continued to knead his panels and Thundercracker in his bliss hasn’t seen the dark helm impatiently gesture Skywarp to get to the other wing at once and imitate what he was doing. Skywarp pouted a bit more but sat up obediently enough to settle behind Thundercracker and stroke his servos over the flat of one, slightly trembling blue wing. Together they worked out the stress from the blue panels and had Thundercracker lean back into their arms in a few breems, a big change from the tense, drawing away mood he was in before.

::Don’t start whining again, Warp:: - Starscream commed to his black trine-mate, excluding Thundercracker for once from the Trine channel - “We have to go slow on him. Do what you promised him now. Massages, energon, pampering… all the works.::

::Okay…::

Skywarp wasn’t happy, but he knew his blue mate enough to know that he’d have to be patient for some more time. He disappeared in a flash, but before Thundercracker could complain about the lack of attention to his right wing, he was back, balancing a number of cubes in his servos. Pasting a huge grin onto his faceplates he chirped happily, offering him the selection.

“There, TC, like I said. Mid-grade, high-grade, flavored oil and even a cube of specialty mixture that I stole from Mixmaster. Whichever you want to drink is yours. Pits, all of it is yours!”

Skywarp was about as subtle as Megatron groping the Prime’s aft during the negotiations. But then Thundercracker was used to his antics, Starscream supposed… 

::Don’t overdo it, Warp…::

::I thought we can’t overdo it now?:::

::True enough…:: - the smile was audible in Starscream’s voice even through the comm line and its wicked version appeared slowly on his dark faceplates. They could do it for fun and TC would give in to them. Eventually. He could hardly complain about his trine-mates being too _nice_ , now could he?

“Strong wings…” he crooned low into Thundercracker’s audials while slid his servo admiringly on the blue metal “Beautiful, strong wings…”

Thundercracker nearly choked on the gulp he’d just swallowed at hearing that. Starscream just never, ever praised anyone, much less his trine-mates, even less for their good looks. The blue Seeker felt like he was in a dream. A particularly nice dream. It was just too good to be suspicious about it and he gave it up and decided to enjoy the attention. He knew what the other two wanted and very deep down he knew that with Starscream and Skywarp working in concert they would eventually succeed and get him to cooperate too. But that was for later. He’d enjoy being in the center of their attention for awhile yet. Let the two miscreants work for their wish. 

Still, he couldn’t help casting an incredulous glance at his normally obnoxious trine-leader who was now nearly purring as he stroked the blue wings.

“What?”- the smile faltered slightly and Starscream nodded his helm to the side- “Can’t I praise you for once?”

“You… uhhh… that feels good, Warp, do go on… you just never done it before, Star…”

“It is highly overdue then.”

“You’re hot TC, I’ve always told you that…”

Skywarp didn’t want to lag behind Starscream and redoubled his efforts in a slight contest he felt stirring his processor. His servos roamed on the dark blue plating, sensual, calming, possessive… all he felt he put into the touch. Starscream of course had Trine-leader rights, but the teleporter couldn’t help but feel some jealousy, now that they were theoretically rivals for the same prospective Carrier.

“Big and strong, perfect for my sparklings…”

“Our sparklings!”

The slight snap was there in Starscream’s voice and his servos tightened possessively on the blue wings. They’d agreed. Starscream wasn’t about to give up his rights but he acknowledged that Thundercracker was actually closer to Skywarp, and if it came to that, the blue Seeker would choose the teleporter. Skywarp on the other servo knew that he could never beat Starscream in any contest or challenge. Thus the agreement, to share Thundercracker between them and protect their Carrier from any other unwanted courting. After all, since the treaty in sight, there were far more Seekers coming and going through the space bridge and without an exception they were in heat, having, protecting or hunting for available mates and carriers.

Skywarp ducked his helm a tiny bit and acquiesced.

“Our sparklings.”

“I still said no…” Thundercracker interjected weakly, somewhat regaining his senses at the dreaded word.

“Its okay, TC. We just talk about it theoretically.”

For Starscream it sounded incredibly lame, especially coming from Skywarp who wouldn’t recognize a theoretical discussion if it bit him in the aft, but it seemed to work. Thundercracker leaned back, into their arms and relaxed again. A triumphant smile flashed through dark lips and Starscream crooned on, whispering incredibly sappy, sweet nonsense into his audials, ignoring Skywarp’s queer glances at him. Just because he never said anything of the like before, it didn’t mean he didn’t know how.

The next few orns were… interesting, to say at least. Thundercracker remained adamant, Starscream surprisingly patient, only betraying his strengthening heat with an occasional lustful moan as he petted the blue wings, keeping his frustration entirely during the negotiations, he still had to take part in. The Autobots started to fear when he was around as the Seeker was increasingly obnoxious and directed all his pent-up frustration into verbal battles – and won them all spectacularly.

Of course they didn’t know what it was about until Sunstorm cheerfully told it to the poking Jazz, from where the news spread like wildfire. From then on, even the grounders looked differently to the Seekers milling around, fighting spectacularly and mating shamelessly. The former Elite Trine got special attention of course, with most Autobots watching interestedly – and sometimes incredulously – as Starscream transformed from his normal, scathing self into a protective and jealous mate, courting _Thundercracker_ of all Seekers with a ferocious effort. 

And wasn’t that a surprise to make them all splutter? That calm, brooding Thundercracker, definitely bigger, heavier and more dominating-looking than both his trine-mates was actually a Carrier? It frankly boggled the processor of most Autobots. 

“But it’s obvious.” Starscream had no idea why Prowl was glitching as he’d confirmed him the rumours. They took a short break from the negotiations and the Autobot command staff decided to ask him about the Seekers’ condition “What is your malfunction?”

“We thought that carriers are smaller than sires.”

“Grounders! For Seekers it’s different. Fliers don’t have a lot of heavy armor but Carriers need that to protect the newsparks. So Carriers are bigger, more heavily armored.”

“I guess so…” he was still unconvinced, trying to grasp the logic there.

“Look…” Starscream scowled “Where in Primus do you think a sparkling pod – much less several - would fit in my frame? I couldn’t fly!”

The once over that Jazz gave him after that very nearly made Starscream blush. It felt like the sharp glance divested him of his armor, down to the barest protoform. The Seeker scowled, trying to ignore the look and get over the fact that apparently not all Autobots were hopeless prudes. Not that he believed that about the wily saboteur.

“So all the bigger mechs are Carriers?”

“Only Seekers and not all. One in each Trine.”

“Ohh.” it finally dawned on them it seemed “We thought… umm, nevermind.”

“You thought that TC is dominant, because that’s the way bigger mechs inclined, right?”

“S-something like that. He generally behaves like a dominant mech.”

“Well, general interfacing preference doesn’t work in heat. And that’s all I’m willing to discuss.”

Starscream left the nosy Autobots and stormed back to the empty conference room. He was so not elaborating how their Trine worked. Ohh, he knew it was abnormal, some might even call it dysfunctional but they made it work. Thundercracker was the dominant generally, along with Skywarp, while he himself had a definite valve preference – completely defying his overwhelmingly dominant personality outside their berthroom and his role as Trine-leader. He knew of no other Trine that worked so – with two sires, a dominant carrier and a sub leader.

But they had no problem arising from it, or at least so far it was true. The heat though… it messed them up seriously, awakened the Sire-instincts in him while Thundercracker still resisted his Carrier protocols, clamoring to him to let his mates spark him. But the blue Seeker has never been in a heat and so he never had the opportunity to get used to it. He’s grown into his role of a dominant, because Starscream preferred it that way and Skywarp didn’t mind it either and very simply he liked it. Hence their increasing itch to do something already. 

Complicated things that even heat didn’t compel Seekers to carry, only strengthened the wish to do so and Thundercracker had a will strong enough to resist it should he choose to. Obviously, the two of them wanted to avoid that eventuality at all costs. Hence the fervent courting and pampering, to soften their blue mate’s will and bend it to their way. Slag, no mech could accuse Starscream being a particularly sentimental mech, but just thinking of holding a sparkling of his own… a deep purr echoed off the empty walls and a slight, little smile pulled dark lipplates upward.

Starscream fled before any Autobots saw him thus. It’s not that he was embarrassed, no. But he had a reputation.


	2. Flying

They were flying. A patrol, although no mech, not even Soundwave could make up a logical sounding explanation as to why patrols were still compulsory. But the Seekers didn’t complain. They got air time, nobody checked on them for what they were doing and no danger meant that they could truly do whatever they pleased. Which these orns was inevitably interfacing in the air and on the ground, probably scarring the human population for life. The Autobots tried to field the complaints from their authorities, but could do very little; the first time they brought up the matter to Starscream, they got such a screeching-shrieking-yelling, indignantly insulted answer that none of them, not even Optimus Prime dared to bring it up again.

As it was brought to light some time later, not only Seekers didn’t mind the audience while courting, flirting, teasing and outright interfacing, but they positively thrived on it. Human air shows that all Seekers loved quickly became stuff for the tabloid papers and the dirtiest corners of the Internet, with pictures and videos that put the Human porn industry as a whole to shame. That huge, ruthless, flying war machines rutted like farm-yard animals surprised the hell out of most humans. 

So by the end of the first groon with no fighting, patrols completely degenerated into courting flights, claiming flights, mating flights and the like – and should the Quintessons chose this period to land, they could have conquered the planet without the supposedly patrolling Seekers noticing it. Even Starscream hardly ever glanced to his sensors any more. Earth became familiar, its landmarks and mineral oddities already mapped and examined to his spark’s desire… and he had a dark blue frame quite conspicuous at his right wing, flying blithely beside him, exuding the heat so much that it made him dazed and completely oblivious of the effect on his Trine-leader.

Skywarp, on his other wing whined softly, as their position made him farther from the object of his desire, the sole focus of all his sensors – Starscream would bet on the fact that the teleporter only managed to stay in the formation because of a few million vorns’ worth of automatism. A sudden, mischievous thought formed in his processor and Starscream acquiesced to it. Acting fast, without any sign heralding it, he half-rolled onto his right, ending up on top of Thundercracker, upside down, their canopies a mere few meters away. He waited a klik until the blue Seeker noticed him and let himself drift down until they flew nearly touching, extending his field to brush against his blue trine-mate.

The answering flare of Thundercracker’s field was giddy with lust and the exhilaration of their position. It flared anew as Starscream’s sensors felt Skywarp joining them from underneath the blue frame, copying Starscream’s position. But neither of them cared about the dangers of flying so close without touching. They were all the masters of the air, the best of their frame-kin even and the three jets flew on close but not touching, only their fields playing the eons old game.

Starscream extended his field to the fullest, nearly enveloping Thundercracker and pushed his rarely expressed love, protection and possessiveness into it. Skywarp from the other side did the same with his more exuberant devotion, his playful companionship and scatty but honest care. They caressed the flickering, overwhelmed field with their own, tickling it with waves of emotions and smothered it until Thundercracker felt it quite difficult to maintain his flight path.

He trembled and shook with the two fields stroking him, his sensory net nearly shorting out from the strength and determination of his mates surrounding him. After the first, deep and strong wave of fields, Skywarp withdrew his a bit while Starscream extended it, smothering him in his dominating, strong love – then it was Skywarp pushing his field over him while Starscream pulled back to let him feel the flirty flickering that was a perfect counterpoint for his seriousness. Their fields ebbed and rose around him, sending strong zings all around his sensory net, while his own flared raggedly, unable to maintain its steady rhythm as they played with him. 

Thundercracker haven’t noticed when he started to moan deeply as his charge was rising with the oh-so-lovely fields arousing him but he didn’t bother to silence it. No point really, when his field was doing all the revealing arousal on its own and whipped around like a windblown cape in reaction to what his mates’ fields were doing to him. It’s been a while since they engaged in purely energy-fields play and Thundercracker didn’t remember a single occasion when the other two put him in the middle before. No, he was usually an active, giving party and they usually pampered their Trine-leader thus.

But of course they were courting him now, their intention clear since the last few orns, just like now, in their eagerly courting and gently cradling fields. The Carrier protocols sang within him in reaction of two such wonderful Sires wooing him and wanting to spark him. His processor held out still, denying it for all his determination was worth, but the walls of his reluctance were crumbling. How could they not when it garnered him such attention, care and love? Ohh, he knew that they loved him always, whatever roles they played in private, in their berth or in public, among other mechs. But this excess, this overflowing love was hard to resist.

Just like his rising charge that they pushed into their fields. Visible sparks started to jump and flash between near plates, the charge almost visibly crawling across their armour. In the high speed of their flight the wind provided enough cooling for their systems to remain barely warmer than usual, but the excess energy couldn’t ground itself as they hasn’t touched. Thundercracker moaned again and tried to concentrate on his path as the overlapping, marvelous fields whipped him ever higher in pleasure. It was impossible to think now and he gave himself over entirely to the sensations and finally, he let the Carrier protocols loose from the uneasy clutches of his processor.

His field suddenly grew tenfold, encompassing them all, filling the air around them with static electricity and mind-boggling pleasure. His moans were echoed by his mates as they too suddenly felt what he experienced, as their fields synchronized and throbbed together in a delicious harmony. Words and coherent thoughts were all gone, their entire being given over to the sensations and emotions that they shared. Love pulsed around in their bond and in the fields, naked want and lust made their engines sputter and purr.

The three Seekers flew like glued together, barely a few inches apart, in a mastery envied by not only human pilots but lesser Seekers as well. Their flight paths wavered and wobbled together as charge started to interfere with their concentration but the interlocked fields kept them close, kept them safe. They sparkled in the bright sunshine but looked like they were shining with an inner light too, the highly overcharged fields making the very air brighter around them.

It was impossible to raise it any higher, the stray thought flashed in connected minds, but they didn’t stop. Both of them pushed all their remaining energies into their fields, spiced it up with their care and devotion, the yearning for sparklings and the fickle, playful humor that Skywarp couldn’t keep out from even the most serious matters. Sated amusement rolled over the fields over the feeling of completeness, the perfection of the Trine, its purpose, themselves separate and whole crescendoing into blissful harmony and breaking out in a three-toned roar of completion. 

Starscream sagged a bit in a nearly mindless haze until a sharp squeal told him that their canopies touched and with his last ergs, pulled up and rolled away. The other two weren’t any better and he gave a sharp nudge in the bond to them to wake up and pay attention to their path. A nosedive wasn’t likely, but it as all too easy to crash into each other in a post-overload haze, nearly depleted of fuel and hardly even knowing where they were. Once, long time ago, in a particularly fervent and drawn-out field-play they crossed several solar systems unknowingly and only a miracle helped them to avoid all the rocks in an asteroid belt.

They landed soon, their depleted systems not allowing even the flight back to the Nemesis. Finding a rocky plateau high above some forested area, they fell into a heap together, snuggling into each other’s arms, Starscream and Skywarp subtly maneuvering Thundercracker to be in the middle again. The blue Seeker didn’t protest this time, as he hardly even got enough energy to land and so he let his mates handle him. His last thought was that Stars and Sky have really outdone themselves to blow his fuses completely and then he fell into recharge straight away.

But the thought had not gone unnoticed in their still commingled fields and the wide open bond, and two sets of triumphant garnet optics flashed together over his dark helm, complete with victorious smiles. Starscream drew the limp blue frame deeper into his arm and Skywarp snuggled close to his back, stroking the blue wings contentedly before they too fell into an exhausted recharge.


	3. Starscream's Plot

“Now, I’ll let him spike me.”

Starscream sat opposite to Skywarp at a rec room table, helms close as they leaned forward to keep the conversation private. They looked like partners in Skywarp’s latest prank and that made more than one Decepticon pause and look strangely to them, since the Air Commander wasn’t the one usually to plot with his prankster wingmate. But they couldn’t care less about what other mechs thought about them. 

“Why? I mean shouldn’t we do that to him…?”

“No, not yet. He’s still hesitating. He will like if I let him, but the Carrier protocols are active and it will make him conflicted and uncomfortable. Next time he’ll be ready to be spiked. Possibly even to sparked.”

“Ahhh… and what should I do?”

“Keep courting him but stay out of this. I’m guessing you can’t let him have a go at your valve?”

Skywarp fumbled with the cube in his servo and nodded. His Sire protocols were in full effect and even the idea of submitting made his tank roil with a faint queasiness. He couldn’t imagine how Starscream was capable of it this time.

“That’s what I thought. Go and prank the Autobots for once.”

There was a definite smile in Screamer… Starscream’s voice and Skywarp glanced up surprised. This new, calm and cooperating Starscream was strange, almost frightening… but he found that he didn’t mind the Trine being so close again, as they have never been since the beginning of the war.

“Okay… good luck softening up TC.”

“Shhh… he’s coming.”

The two Seekers sat up straighter and Skywarp started to babble something about his latest prank on the cassette twins and the possibility of the same thing working on the Autobot twins. Starscream nodded at the right places and even offered an idea how to tweak the ploy to suit better the frontliners. They both resolutely ignored the suspicious glowers that the approaching Thundercracker cast on them. As he neared their table, Skywarp suddenly ported away with a loud VOIP and returned in a klik, holding out their blue mate’s cube to him with a wide, not even faked smile.

“I gotta go, TC!” he chirped innocently “Those twins nedda pay for all that Jet Judo they did to your wings! Bye!”

And he was off with another VOIP, mechs around not even lifting a brow-plate at his antics. Starscream shifted closer to Thundercracker’s side, not even pretending to care about anything else as he started to stroke his mate’s wings. The suspicious look slowly dissipated as the blue Seeker relaxed and finally believed that apparently his mates didn’t plan to coerce him into sparking for now. A gentle and lustfully purring Starscream he could take any orn.

“Hey, lover-wings! Take it to your room, noone wants you to wreck the rec room!”

Starscream lifted his helm from where he was nuzzling the blue wing and snarled back in mock anger.

“Shut your vocalizer Brawl! Besides those were the Coneheads.” But he smirked, remembering the havoc the other Seeker Trine wrought on the common room, rendering it fairly unusable for orns. “Come on TC, let the prudes have their cubes alone. I promised you a waxing anyways.”

In their private wash racks, Starscream wasted no time on getting his servos fully on those marvelous wings. Standing under the pattering of the warm solvent, he meticulously cleaned every surface, nook, cranny and seam he could reach, not letting Thundercracker do anything until he was nearly limp with the pampering and the pleasurable sensations. Then he half directed half carried him to the berth, where he proceeded to spread the expensive wax onto his plating, following it up with a soft cloth to buff the dark blue colour to its finest shine.

He did the task with meticulous slowness, in a companionable silence broken only by shared smiles and sometimes directions to turn or move a limb. By the time he finished, Thundercracker was shining like a mirror and softer than a puddle of go… except in one place where Starscream innocently laid his helm, like he got tired of all that hard work. The moan wasn’t even suppressed and the plate under his helm heated up quite spectacularly. Starscream smirked mischievously and ex-vented lightly onto the panel, purring low. The moan changed into a breathy groan and Thundercracker squirmed under him.

“S-star…!”

“Yes, TC?”

He vented again, hazing the mirror-finish of the blue plate with his lips lightly, hardly even touching. Innocent digits played with the edge of the panel until it trembled.

“P-please!”

“Please what, TC?”

He nuzzled the plate under his lipplates and slithered sensually up onto the berth, to lay between the blue legs, servos lightly relaxing on blue thighs. His glossa peeked out to barely lick the edge of the panel here and there, enjoying the nearly continuous moans and whimpers from above him. When a shuddering servo caressed his helm vent, he leaned into the touch, purring loudly in contentment, nearly forgetting the plan that put him there. But not quite yet. The panel finally clicked open and slid aside to reveal a dark blue spike springing free of its constraining and hot chamber.

“Anything Star! Anythi… ohhhh…”

The words choked into a whimper as Starscream licked his spike from base to tip like it was a rust stick.

“With pleasurrrr…” Starscream purred as he licked and nuzzled the straining blue spike, enjoying the Pit of his mate’s incoherent sounds of pleasure. 

“Don’t y-you… mind… this?”

Thundercracker sounded as though he collected all his wits for the question, choking out each word between panting moans.

“Of course not… I want you to feel good…”

Starscream licked his way up again and shifting forwards he took the tip into his mouth. His glossa swirled around the head, collecting the first oozing droplets of fluid and ever so slowly he bobbed down his helm to take him deeper, massaging the spike with his intake tubing. 

Thundercracker felt in the seventh heaven ever since the waxing started and it impossibly got better with each passing breem. To be pampered so was not something he ever experienced and the fact that it was _Starscream_ doing it made his spark sing in joy. He’d always lamented the war making them harder, more closed even towards each other, the Trine moving apart slowly. These last few orns were pure joy on several levels even beside his mates pampering and courting him. But to feel Starscream’s talented glossa slowly worship his spike, when he’d expected – and secretly feared – them to just spike him and spark him… it was beyond pleasure, beyond heaven, beyond anything he could ever dream of.

He whimpered as the hot mouth drew off his spike but he had no time to voice a complaint before Starscream shifted up, straddling his hips and with a happy little sigh lowered himself onto his arousal. He bucked up to meet his heat halfway, moaning again in pleasure… and that was where something annoying, a feeling of wrongness started to awaken deep inside him.

At first he tried to ignore it. What it was he didn’t know and didn’t even want to care. He wanted to lose himself in the slick, tight, hot valve that encompassed his spike and moved oh-so-deliciously up and down, riding him, rubbing on his sensors, firing them up. But he couldn’t. Thundercracker whimpered as feelings started to become conflicted within his processor and the pleasure he felt started to dissipate ever so slowly to give way to an inexplicable, guilty emotion. He didn’t want to lose the perfect moment, he didn’t have a reason to feel guilty, so why?

“TC! Don’t think! Don’t listen! Feel!”

The urgent, breathy voice of his trine-leader drew his attention suddenly. Starscream knew exactly what was going on, in fact he’d planned it to go this way, to have Thundercracker’s awakened Carrier protocols conflict with his inclination to prefer spiking until he realized that he was nearly unable to do so. But when he was there, feeling the utter bliss his mate was in and how it started to break apart – now he felt sorry for Thundercracker. He slammed his hips down hard and at the same time pushed their bond wide open, flooding it with his own arousal, his own pleasure, silencing the tiny voice that nudged the blue Seeker to feel guilty for enjoying the dominant role.

He sped up his movements and encouraged Thundercracker to do so too, firmly keeping them both in the shared mindspace that was ruled by pleasure and only pleasure. The blue Seeker responded enthusiastically, bucking up to thrust into the welcoming valve and letting his trine-mate swamp the bond with their shared joy. The little voice was still there, but nearly silenced, forced to take a background role to their impending climax. He shouted loud in his clear, deep voice as release claimed them, his yell twinned with Starscream’s wordless shriek.

“Staaaar…!”

They slumped back to the berth, Starscream sprawled onto him strutlessly, panting with vents on full to cool their overheated frames. For breems they lay there unmoving, sated, happy and very much in love before he felt Starscream smile against his plating. The tricoloured Seeker moved his digits aimlessly over the freshly waxed, mirror-brilliant plating and murmured softly.

“It’s all right TC… it’s easier if you don’t resist it.” he lifted his dark helm, looking into Thundercracker’s optics from close up “You can learn to enjoy the other role too. And if you want to… I’ll always do this for you.”

Thundercracker was silent for so long that Starscream nearly thought that he fell into recharge, if not for the slightly open optics. Then he sighed deep and that ex-vent had nothing to do with cooling his frame. His servo came up to stroke the white wings gently as they fluttered over him. Starscream hasn’t even bothered to lift himself off his spent spike, the only part of him that moved was his helm. 

“I know. And I appreciate it.”

He murmured, still uneasy but accepting the inevitable. The Carrier protocols would urge him to let his mates spike and spark him regardless of his natural preferences, until it became downright unpleasant. It was better to acquiesce to it while he could still call it his own decision and let his mates love him in whatever way they wanted to. Truth to be told, he too became keen on the idea of sparklings; Skywarp chattered about them endlessly and he hasn’t missed Starscream’s shining optics and purring, even though he never joined their more exuberant mate in those litanies. And it was true, he was the only one in the Trine who could carry, who could give them the sparklings they’d all yearned for.


	4. Trine

“Starscream.”

The Seeker turned, wings pricking up surprised at the rarely heard voice on the Nemesis. A few groons ago it would have been a cause for an alert and subsequent fighting to have it heard on the Decepticon ship. Even now, he barely suppressed a flinch and he swung around faster than necessary to face the fragging Prime. The Autobots rarely exercised their newly established rights to visit the Decepticon base; just like their mechs went to the Ark only when necessary. Still, Optimus Prime was seen around a few times, albeit mostly around Megatron’s quarters so he shouldn’t be surprised now.

But when Starscream turned to answer the Autobot leader, the flippant answer he prepared died in his vocalizer as he took in the spectacle. Optimus Prime held a wing in his servo, gripping the tip so strongly that Starscream winced inwardly at the sight, the Seeker on the other end of the wing hanging meekly from the strong grip. His optics roved over the Seeker’s plating, brow ridge rising all the time, taking in the dripping, multicoloured mess of paints, the shiny lengths of thin but long metal tape – _what in the Pit could that be?_ \- twisting around the joints and fluffy, white, what looked to be _feathers_ stuck on the surface of the sorry-looking wings. 

It took him a few kliks of careful observation to identify the original colours of the mech under the colourful mess covering him and when he did he nearly felt sorry for Skywarp. Ahh. Of course. 

“I think I won’t ask what happened.”

He caught the amused flash in the optics of the Prime but he gave points to the mech for answering in a normal, almost exasperated, forcibly stern tone.

“It is better not to describe the event that occurred. I’m sure a recording will find its way here anyhow.”

“Inevitable.” – Starscream smirked, seeing Skywarp twitch unhappily and let a small whine out.

“But I feel necessary to revoke Skywarp’s permission to visit the Ark for… say a decacyle? If you agree the restriction of course.”

“By the look of it, I raise it to a full groon.” – he took the offered wingtip from the Autobot’s servo, dragging his prankster wingmate over to his side while Skywarp was murmuring something like _unfair_ , but very quietly and he moved to Starscream’s side meekly enough – “It might take that long to clean this mess off of him. Should I forbid your twins to come after him as well?”

“Actually, I had to issue the subsequent restrictions to the Aerialbots.”

Starscream lifted his other brow-plate beside the one he already had high and ruthlessly repressed the laugh trying to bubble out of his vocalizer.

“He was idiot enough to take on a full gestalt?” – shaking the hardly black wing in his servo in mock anger he continued towards Skywarp – “I thought you had at least a grain of survival instinct… if not common sense Primus gives to simple drones.”

“It felt like a good idea… at the time.” – Skywarp answered meekly, in the specific tone he normally reserved for an enraged Megatron catching him in a prank.

“I’ll take him from here, Prime. Thank you for… I suppose for returning him.”

“You don’t think we’d keep him for a klik longer than necessary.”

“I’m not that fortunate, I guess.” 

“You show a Skywarp, I raise a Sideswipe with an attendant Sunstreaker.”

“Teleporter. Worth two easily.”

It was strange, almost queer to snark with Optimus _fragging_ Prime faceplate to faceplate. But before he could warm into it, Megatron entered the Command Center and stopped as he took in the spectacle. Starscream clearly caught the beginning of a smirk on his faceplates before he replaced it by a fake scowl.

“What seems to be the problem?”

Starscream lifted a browplate again. What a stupid question… one glance at Skywarp was enough to know everything there was to know. 

“Nothing now.” – he said drier than he’d intended – “I’ll discipline my wingmate and leave you two to your… khm. Business.”

This time he definitely caught the matching blushes on their faceplates, even with that fragging faceplate the Prime still insisted on wearing. Smirking in answer, he left the place, dragging the hardly resisting Skywarp with him, delivering a lecture by rote on the way to the racks. Skywarp was even cowed enough to listen to it. More or less. Starscream didn’t believe for a single klik that he could change his mate’s pranking nature, nor did he want to. The lesson was for the public mainly.

It took nearly a joor in the public wash racks to clean the mess off him and he steadfastly refused to describe the events or even name some of the substances decorating him. Starscream hardly ever saw his prankster wingmate this flustered, embarrassed and humiliated and it took him nearly as long as the wash itself to replace those feelings with arousal from subtle touches, deft scratches and the murmured encouragements.

“Warp… think of TC. He’s all ready and willing now. When we go back we can… play.”

Just the thought was enough to make Skywarp’s optics darken a few shades and he purred deeply. 

“So you… succeeded?”

“Completely.” – the smirk was a bit conceited but Skywarp didn’t mind it this time – “He’s ready.”

“Cool. Let’s go then.”

“We fuel up, take him flying and then.”

“Right.” – Skywarp looked a bit dissatisfied to have to wait but a bit of flying always did wonders for their libido. Not that his needed any rousing, but it would help Thundercracker even more.

A couple of joors later the three Seekers returned to the Nemesis in high spirits, the aerial performance they put in for their blue trine-mate making them nearly giddy with success and arousal. It was a true dance this time, discarding the last pretensions of patrol. Starscream and Skywarp danced, truly danced for Thundercracker, weaving their movements together, performing incredible and nearly impossible tricks and maneuvers to impress him. The blue sky was scribbled with their contrails and they gathered quite an audience too who have marveled at their skill and proves. 

The way down to their quarters was full of subtle caresses on blue wings, less than subtle groping of a certain blue aft and blatant innuendos that made Thundercracker blush many times. He was certainly responding favorably to their courting and advances, but his natural countenance found it a bit excessive, especially from Skywarp. But there was no denying the horny Seeker, not when his Sire protocols were in full swing and he felt no obstructions on its way any more. 

In their quarters the subtlety disappeared completely and Thundercracker found himself sandwiched between Starscream rubbing his cockpit over his own and Skywarp draped over his back, caressing and nuzzling the wings before the door could slide close. He didn’t fight with his protocols any more. His processor was swamped with his mates’ love and he was perfectly fine with whatever way they wanted to express it with. 

Skywarp’s servos slid from the wing joints outward, drawing tingling tracks on his wings while his pelvic plate humped his aft with shrieking slides, scratching paint streaks on it. The black servos fastened onto the wingtips, claws doing something marvelous with the wiring there that sent little zings down his sensor-net and Thundercracker panted, flexing his wings back, towards the teleporter, upper frame arching towards Starscream. 

Starscream had his blue mate’s helm between two servo and was kissing Thundercracker deeply, exploring his mouth like he never did before. The taste of his mouth has never felt so sweet, so appealing before and he gladly lost himself in the slow, deep strokes of his glossa as it tangled with his mate’s. He kept kissing passionately his mate with uncharacteristic patience for him, until the last vestiges of his reluctance have melted away.

“Mine…” – Starscream whispered into the delectable mouth between strokes of his glossa.

“Mine!” – Skywarp echoed him, murmuring it into the neck he was mouthing.

“Ours!”

They held the moaning Thundercracker between their heated frames, squeezing him in their embrace, restraining his movements, claiming his body, dominating him between their smaller but more powerful frames. Red and black pelvic plates rubbed on his from the front and behind and Thundercracker was lost in the sensation, gave up his pride for his mates, his Sires. 

“Yours…”

His panel snapped open and the scent of the lubricant already dripping filled their heated little sphere. Skywarp whimpered, holding himself back by force, to not to take the valve inches away from his straining spike. Starscream had told him in no uncertain terms what would happen to him – specifically to his spike – had he tried to do so first, too soon or too forcefully. Their trine leader went in first, a digit dipping among the folds and his lipplates swallowing the satisfied moan. He massaged the inner folds, seeking out the sensors awakening for the first time for so long, spreading the sweet-smelling lubricant around the slightly trembling entrance platelets. 

He added another digit, spreading the tight walls gently, while Skywarp nibbled on the wing edges, licking soothingly his small bites and his servo caressed the aft he was so far forbidden to touch otherwise. Starscream thrust his digits as deep as they would go, adding the third after he felt the give in the walls, felt the sensors pinging back as the digits stroked over them, felt the lubricant warm and slick the slide enough. Even his self control was sorely tried to go faster and take the moaning Thundercracker, so beautiful as he came undone in their arms.

::You have him all for you…!:: Skywarp whined suddenly through the comm excluding Thundercracker from the line ::Not fair!::

Starscream didn’t answer aloud or in the comm but his other servo slid down from a blue shoulder to grab Skywarp’s and dragged it towards where his own digits were imbedded into the dripping valve. His glance conveyed annoyance only for a klik at the teleporter’s sudden realization and his digits paused thrusting in to let him join. 

::Two.:: even his comm voice was panting and deeper than usual, his purring resonating in it ::Slow.::

Skywarp sneaked his servo between Thundercracker’s rather trembling legs, rubbed a little lubricant between his digits and slowly, carefully inserted two beside Starscream’s. Thundercracker shook between them, hardly able to stand even as they propped him up from both sides and his moans were continuous. 

Skywarp thrust his digits deep and added his own growl to his mate’s delightful sound. The inner walls of the valve trembled, the calipers opening and tightening on them erratically, the charge biting little stings as it crackled in and outside. He felt Starscream’s servo move again, thrusting counterpoint to his own movement, deeper and stronger at every passing klik. Then the valve tightened up around his questing digits, Thundercracker’s frame tensed up, wings flaring and vibrating against his frame… and with a loud, wordless shout he overloaded, valve clamping hard on their digits. 

They supported the suddenly limp frame between them, stroking gently his plating and wings, Starscream kissing him again. They went down slowly to their knee joints, keeping the sluggishly onlining Thundercracker between them, spread legs resting on theirs, helm on Skywarp’s shoulder and Starscream claiming his mouth. 

“It’s all right, TC…” – Skywarp crooned into the audial nearly at his mouth and licked it teasingly – “You are so beautiful when you let yourself go…”

“We’ll take care of you. Just let us.” – Starscream added pulling out their digits but he continued to rub the dripping entrance of the valve. – “Mine to love…”

“Mine to take!”

“Mine to command…”

“Mine to protect!”

Y-yours…” – the deep voice was a bit still trembling and breathless but Thundercracker collected himself again, squirming at the continuing touches – “all yours.”

“Ours to spark!”

“Yes…”

Two pairs of red optics flashed happily over the dark helm. Starscream sighed in relief when he released his spike at last. For all his control he was just as aroused and needy as Skywarp and to watch Thundercracker overload from their ministrations took its toll on him too. He positioned his spike at the entrance of his mate’s valve and whispered to him low.

“Love you TC. Always have, always will. You’re mine!”

He thrust in, going slowly into the still tight valve. They did a good job of stretching him but it was still a tight fit. The calipers tightened around him and Starscream stopped, gnashing his denta together, but pausing to let Thundercracker relax. 

“Ssshh… its all right, you’re doing fine…”

They both caressed the hot plating, whispered encouragements and endearments into his audials until the tenseness disappeared again and the valve calipers let Starscream to slide in, sheathing himself fully. He groaned at the incredible feeling, the hot, tightly spasming valve around him, Thundercracker’s pleasured-sated field whipping around them and his nearly continuous deep purring. 

Pulling out he pecked little, biting kisses on the slack lips, claiming his mate’s mouth just like he claimed his valve, he thrust back, this time without a pause, without any hindrance. Starscream gasped as his sensors flared and zinged, the sensations almost too much to bear. Grasping Skywarp’s shoulder he signaled wordlessly to the impatient and horny teleporter to join in as he slowed down again, nearly pulling out. 

He didn’t have to tell it twice. In a nanoklik he felt Skywarp’s throbbing, hot, stiff spike by his own and the black Seeker spread the blue legs a little further apart, thrusting in as slowly as he was capable of. The pressure, the sheer tightness was nearly impossible and they all panted a ragged moan out in different registers. Thundercracker’s valve rim was stretched taut around their spikes, the sensitive little platelets straining to admit the two shafts and retain their integrity. 

Then Skywarp slipped in while Starscream held himself back, stroking gently tightly tensed cables and tension wires, licking and suckling soothingly on the tense neck cords. Thundercracker’s servos were clenching nearly painfully on his pectoral vents that were puffing out hot air to attempt to cool his frame. Gradually, the tenseness dissipated under the soothing caresses and the almost painfully tight clutch of the valve relaxed too.

Starscream pushed back into the embracing heat and felt Skywarp’s spike throb beside him for a nanoklik before pulling out. The increased, different friction was mind-boggling and he knew that he was making increasingly loud shouts and yells. Skywarp panted words of claiming and loving while he thrust and pulled out and they settled into a rhythm of pleasure, love and lust, dragging ever closer to a glorious abyss. Thundercracker alternately ground his pelvis forward onto Starscream and back to impale himself deeper on Skywarp’s spike, whimpering in mindless pleasure, the last vestiges of discomfort fast swept away by the rising charge.

Then Starscream hit the innermost node and the deep moan crescendoed into a howl and Thundercracker’s frame undulated between them, chasing his second overload. They gave it to him, as right after Starscream, Skywarp too rammed into the ceiling node, shattering their blue mate completely. His valve tightened around them, making it impossible for them to move. Starscream buried his faceplates into his bigger mate’s neck to bear with him and ride out the overload.

Then he fell limp, nearly strutless and they picked up the tempo again, thrusting stronger and faster into the loosening up valve, raising his charge once more. Skywarp growled and Starscream keened as the sensations started to become so strong as to be nearly painful. But they kept on and Starscream frantically clawed and scratched Thundercracker’s cockpit, his talons carving burning tracks into the metal and glass until it split and moved to the side.

A victorious yell greeted the appearing spark chamber, but Starscream didn’t stop thrusting. Pulling Thundercracker to his right, and Skywarp closer, leaning around the blue frame, he let his own spark become visible, the dark red light casting flickering shadows on colourful platings. It was joined by two others soon, their sparks straining towards each other, like always since they became mates. 

The red spheres elongated, their outlines wavered, flickered, engorged with charge and still hungry for more. Slender energy-tendrils detached from all three to playfully tease each other and deliver teasing little shocks that served only to arouse them even more. The thrusting slowed down as their sparks synchronized and drew ever closer, touching now even without the tendrils, their coronas merging; and picked up the tempo and the strength when the sparks merged fully, creating a huge ball of energy and life-force that was all three of them, all together, not separate, not apart, belonging to each other.

A final, deep thrust together, a final flare of his/their spark and the world around them shattered. Jetting their transfluid deep into the valve, into the opened, awaiting gestation chamber they overloaded together, roaring their climax into the privacy of their quarters. Thundercracker came after them by a klik, the rush of the transfluid and the explosion in their conjoined sparks bringing him over the edge the third time, his resetting vocalizer unable to add more than a burst of static to their yells.

Neither of them was online as their frames sagged together to the ground, as their sparks separated sluggishly and protective protocols drew them back to their chambers, safely tucked away from the world. Their nearly fused frames tilted to the side, arms embraced and joints locked up keeping them together – and inadvertently keeping them from damaging each other too. They fell into an exhausted, sated recharge, content and happy, embraced tightly together.


	5. Challenge

Thundercracker flew calmly in the clear sky, trying hard not to think what his mates were plotting now that caused them to lag behind. It never led to any good when Skywarp started plotting and to have Starscream as an accomplice… it didn’t bear a thought. So he tried to forget about them and enjoy flying. All too soon they’d fuss over him for wanting to transform anyway, the growing sparklings would make it dangerous and slow. But not yet. Even Skywarp accepted his and Starscream’s word that for another decacycle or so the still small pods wouldn’t cause him any problems.

That first time they spiked him together was followed by several similar scenarios and neither of them knew exactly how many sparklings resulted from their interfacing. Skywarp bet on six, laughing at his blue mate’s abhorred expression, Starscream was more cautious, saying that he thought four was the maximum. Privately, Thundercracker found even one complete trine of them one too many, but definitely the most he’d hoped to carry. Even that much would make his life miserable all too soon, no matter how his mates would pamper him then.

His energon intake rose already and his gestation chamber was smelting hot and busy with the early process of forging the frames. His spark felt heavy and the chamber full to nearly bursting. They were en route to the Ark, both his mates insisting that the Autobot medic should have a look at him. Hook was a wartime repair mech, good at what he was doing but he’s never seen a carrying cycle. Ratchet was a fully qualified, Academy trained medic, even if not a Seeker one and they all wanted the best care for the first sparklings after the war. 

They were nearing to the Ark now and Thundercracker’s sensors told him that his Trine-mates were catching up too, only a klik behind him… when the calm sky around him was filled with sudden, unexpected engine noises and excited shouts, causing him to dip sharply. What in the Pits…? Then he realized who the colourful frames around him were and felt a faint exasperation for the Aerialbots, tinged with amused tolerance for the young fliers.

That is, until Air Raid decided to do a full roll around him and he heard the sharp hisses in the bond with his mates. Starscream accelerated to catch up with them, but it was Skywarp who appeared in a purple flash, enraged and furious, shouting obscenities as he attacked the baffled Aerialbot, herding him away from Thundercracker, barely refraining from outright shooting. 

The comm lines were full of noise and shouting, angry yells and cursing, making it impossible to understand anything. The air was a chaotic flurry of fliers, Skywarp being seemingly everywhere, the gestalt members trying to defend their brothers… then Starscream arrived, diving like a gyrofalcon among doves and scattered the Aerialbots into every direction, screeching like only he could, clearing the sky and the open comm lines into silence. 

“What the frag are you doing???” – Silverbolt’s shout held a little panic still but superseded by his anger.

“Go away slaggers!” – Skywarp was barely coherent in his anger.

“HE’S OURS!” – Starscream’s tone made everyone wince again but Silverbolt didn’t stop trying to defend his team from the suddenly mad Seekers.

“What the frag…? YOUR idiot trinemate attacked Air Raid!”

“Silverbolt! Stand down NOW!” – the older, only slightly frantic voice of Skyfire cut through the angry chatter – “Don’t argue and descend now!

Silverbolt obeyed grumbling and collecting his scattered, frightened and angry team with him. Starscream and Skywarp shot up to be on Thundercracker’s sides, effectively shielding him from any possible danger. The Concord found it strange, but didn’t think of it much. 

“But why? They attacked us!”

“Silverbolt, Air Raid basically challenged the Seekers for Thundercracker. That’s real serious.”

“He what? B-but we just wanted to fly with them!”

Skyfire sighed. Youngsters… he waited until the full gestalt transformed and landed before following them down to explain. He sent an apologetic message to Starscream, telling him that the young fliers didn’t do it intentionally, before turning back to Silverbolt.

“That roll around Thundercracker. You shouldn’t do it ever unless you mean the challenge. It is serious and they have the right to fight you off… even deactivate you if necessary.”

“But why would we…”

“It doesn’t matter that you don’t know the customs. Seekers react instinctly to such a challenge.” – Skyfire paused a bit, deciphering Starscream’s screeched answer in the comm – “Especially as they sparked him and he’s carrying their sparklings.”

“What?” – the many-toned question was almost funny. Almost.

“Don’t go anywhere near to him in the next few groons, the matter is forgotten, understand?”

“Yeah, I get it, but why? 

“What do you mean he’s sparked?

“Who, Thundercracker?!?”

The many-toned, confused voices were showing Skyfire that the Aerialbots clearly didn’t understand what they’ve done and why it was so offensive.

“Yes, Thundercracker is sparked, meaning he’s carrying newsparks.”

“OUR newsparks!” – the screech intruded to their comms, making them all wince again. 

“He’s… pregnant…?” – Fireflight’s completely shocked, awed voice was echoing his brother’s feelings too.

“Yes, if you must use that organic term, he is! And you are very-very lucky that all Starscream and Skywarp did was to herd you away from their mate! They could have fought you seriously! That move signaled wooing away their mate from them.”

“Ohh….”

“But I didn’t mean to!” – Air Raid was flabbergasted. That he’d… no! – “I wouldn’t! I didn’t know about it! We’d flown together a few times since the treaty and it was okay.”

“Yes, because they initiated it. But surely not since Thundercracker is carrying.” – Skyfire surreptitiously checked that the Seekers had disappeared while he educated the young fliers – “On top of it, it is their first heat and it makes them protect their carrier very jealously.”

“So TC will have babies?”

Fireflight’s shining optics expressed that it would be very hard to keep him away from the Seeker Trine. Skyfire glanced at Silverbolt, silently asking the most responsible of them to help keep away the enthusiastic flier from the jealous and protective Seekers – for his own safety and the Seekers’ peace of processor too.

“Not quite. He’ll have sparkling pods which in time they will develop and transform into sparkling protoforms.”

“Eggs? Uhh… that sounds… organic.”

“Pods. Not quite eggs as they are the first protoform a sparkling have. It is completely unlike any organic process.”

“Ohh… other mechs can have eggs too? Can we?”

Skyfire first wanted to facepalm, then did so. He so didn’t want to be the one enlightening the Aerialbots about interface and carrying Seeker-style. But it looked that he had no choice…


	6. Newsparks

The three Seekers landed at the main entrance of the Ark, after much reassuring petting and field-play on the way, Starscream still grumbling about the rudeness of the youngsters. Even Thundercracker felt indignant about the insulting maneuver, though he understood that Air Raid didn’t mean it the way it came out. Skywarp cooled down a little from spitting with fury, but the black and purple Seeker’s façade still promised painful retribution to the one responsible. Starscream made the teleporter swear that the youngsters wouldn’t be seriously harmed, but beyond that he forbade him nothing – showing his indignation too.

“So. You contacted me to give a physical to your trine-mate?” – Ratchet was a little vary with the three big Seekers crowding his medbay with nary an Autobot in sight. The treaty was too new still and these mechs were enemies for too long to be entirely at ease with them. – “Why are you all here then?”

“Because it involves all of us.” – came the answer from Starscream and the medic suddenly realized how unusually they stood, the two smaller, slimmer Seeker flanking Thundercracker and they displayed every sign of aggressive protectiveness Ratchet was familiar with – and probably some only understandable to Seekers as well, if the flared wings were any indication. 

“How so?” – the medic raised a brow plate and refrained from moving closer to the jittery – _why now, he wondered_ – Seekers.

Starscream hesitated and only an exasperated glance thrown at him from Thundercracker made him speak again, divulging the surprising details.

“He is sparked. We need… you must make sure everything is all right with the sparklings!”

Ratchet cast an incredulous look at the towering, massive blue Seeker and his… well, apparently his Sires beside him. He heard the theory of course, but it was still something to hear and see that the epitome of dominant Seeker mechliness was the one carrying the offspring for his Trine. But then, he was a medic and saw the many quirks of reproduction that cropped up in different mechs way back when it was the only method.. virtually every city or sub-society created its own rituals, traditions and outright modifications about the process. He remembered well why this particular training took nearly a whole vorn, while other specialties could be completed in around a stellar cycle. Not that he’d actually had seen carrying Seekers when they studied this, they were far too isolationist to allow a grounder to observe it – but he’d learned the process just like all the others.

“Well… sit there, on that berth then… and the two of you at least try not to hover too close!” – he added as the other two Seekers followed Thundercracker like they were his angry shadows and stood on his sides by the berth close enough for the wings to overlap.

They didn’t go far that was for sure and Ratchet grumbled all the way through the exam because of it. When the truce was signed, he offered free physical and repairs to all Decepticons, but actually very few took up his offer. Starscream himself did, but neither of his trinemates came with him; and Ratchet rather thought that he had only volunteered to show an example than for any want or need on his part. That Hook was actually a good repairmech, almost a medic was a surprise to him just like to the other Autobot officers; the mech had a worse reputation than he actually proved to be. 

“Why did you come to me with this?”

“Hook doesn’t know about carrying and no Seeker medic survived the war.”

“That should be remedied too…” – Ratchet murmured while he efficiently checked the blue Seeker’s systems one by one – “…too few medics remained if you ask me.”

“In this, I tend to agree.” – Starscream canted his wings – “Maybe you could organize a medical school, if not an academy right now. Soon most Seeker Trines will be carrying now that the war has ended. TC is just the first.”

Ratchet nearly laughed at the comically arrogant spread of wings at that – not only from Skywarp, but Starscream too looked like immensely proud of themselves for being Sires already. They had the right for it though – Ratchet was a little awed by the prospect of the first sparklings since the war ended. It signified a true new beginning, a hope for the remaining Cybertronians, a promise for the peace to last.

“Now, let me see the sparklings. The newsparks are in your chamber still, right?”

“Yes. It is a decaorn yet before they move down to the pods.”

“Right. So… you have to open your chamber now. Starscream, could you hold back your wing-third so he won’t bite my helm off?”

“Warp! Let him.”

Ratchet cautiously waited until Thundercracker somewhat nervously parted his cockpit and the spark-chamber opened, spilling a bright light on the medical berth. It was far more bright than a single spark should be and the chamber looked crowded… oh, of course. Seekers tended to kindle multiples, even if not all survived the pod-birth. With a stern glance at the two standing and worrying Sires, he leaned closer, aiming the specialist tool at the chaotic light-show of the spark-chamber. It had more difficulty picking up individual newsparks than in a smaller brood, but eventually it beeped and flashed a blue light.

“Right. Congratulations, you have successfully kindled four newsparks, three of which are definitely Seekers and probably the smallest one will be too.”

“What else could it be, medic!?!” – Skywarp snarled, indignantly – “We are all pure Seekers.”

“Hey, I just mean its spin is not conclusive yet, as it is the smallest, least developed.” – he should have expressed it better, Ratchet knew – Seekers were a particularly snobbish branch - "They are all fine, bright sparks though."

“Four! – Starscream beamed, his servo caressing the blue wings, dark face shining – “I won, Warp.”

“Four…?” – Thundercracker groaned – “I won’t be able to fly in the last quartex…”

“You won’t be _allowed_ to fly in the last quartex, TC.” – Starscream’s voice was stern – “But we’ll take you up, right, Warp?”

“Sure thing!”

“I concur to the no-flying restriction then.” – Ratchet added seriously, examining the gestation tank now with another tool – “The forging process checks out normal too, but I can’t tell about individual pods yet. Do you take any additives?”

“Not yet. Just more energon and the best quality we can get.”

“He should start he additives too. He needs it. There is a marked decrease of certain metals in his own protoform. Nothing dangerous! But it can be, so better take the supplements.”

Thundercracker nodded, listening to the medic carefully, still in a little shock about the four newsparks. Starscream, too listened carefully, knowing that it would be his responsibility to care for, since Skywarp was far too scatter-processored to keep all those details in mind. 

“Yes, and no more merging for a few orns at least – any newspark kindled now would be too late to catch up with the others but it would be straining him even more. Once the newsparks move to the pods, no new ones will be kindled. Interface is okay all the time, give him as much of your coding as you want to.”

“Yes, Ratchet.” – Starscream’s voice was smug, but Skywarp wasn’t far behind him with his lewd grin. Thundercracker groaned. These two would take it as free servo in facing him into the next orn every cycle… not that he minded it per se, but he fully intended to take Starscream up to his offer at least sometimes. 

“Other than that… well, congratulations. It will be interesting to see sparklings about again.”

Ratchet laughed outright seeing the three pairs of proudly flared wings at that. Maybe it would make some more mechs think about the same in the near future. He actually hoped to have his servos full with carrying mechs and delicate newsparks instead of battle-torn injuries and guttering sparks in the future. He’d had enough of the latter.


	7. Worries

Thundercracker groaned as he came out of recharge, unsure what brought him up at… yeah it was the middle of the night cycle still. He felt overfull, almost bloated, even though nothing shoved on his frame and the pods were still in the process of forging, so small enough to fit comfortably in the gestation chamber… but then he realized that the feeling came from his spark chamber. Parting his cockpit and looking down on the chamber itself he hesitantly touched the smooth crystal.. yeah, that was it. It was scorching hot, nearly enough to melt his digit.

Groaning again as the chamber gave a literal kick the blue Seeker tried to soothe it, stroking despite of the heat, but it didn’t help any. Frustrated, he moved to stand up when a gentle servo started massaging his wings and a sleepy voice whispered to him, the tone of concern clearly discernible in the raspy sound.

“What’s wrong, Thunder?”

“Don’t know…” – he groaned again, but the massage was helping and he snuggled closer to Starscream’s warm frame – “… feels tight somehow. Like… like an itch that you can’t scratch.”

“Poor TC…” – Starscream crooned to him, his servos busy with the petting – “I’ll scratch it for you…”

For all the discomfort, Thundercracker laughed – it was just so cheesy, he couldn’t help himself. 

“Sappy!” – he accused him playfully.

“Slag, no, TC, don’t insult your Trine-leader!” – but he was laughing too and their combined mirth woke up Skywarp too, his dream fraying at the edge of their awareness.

“What are you laughing at…?” – he asked half suspiciously, half still in recharge, rising to his elbows, but the smile already curling the corner of his lipplates up at what came through the bond.

“Come and help. TC doesn’t feel good…”

“I know a way to feel good…” – Skywarp’s tone would’ve praised a high-priced courtesan and made Thundercracker blush immediately.

“Fragging is not an answer to everything, Warp!”

“It isn’t?” – wide, mock-surprised optics made them both laugh.

“Well, he might be right there, Thunder. Take the Prime and Megatron for example…”

Starscream was tackled by a thrown pillow, courtesy of Thundercracker while Skywarp dropped back among the covers on his own, he was laughing so hard.

“No! NOoooo! I do NOT want to picture those two together! Noooo!”

“I do wonder sometimes, who bangs whom…”

Skywarp barely had time to finish his sentence before he was jumped by both his mates and they literally fought to cover his mouth. 

“Slag me and smelt me… now I need my processor scoured…” – Starscream groaned as he flopped down, carefully on top of Skywarp, burying the laughing prankster into the berth, drawing their blue mate after him.

“Me too…” – Thundercracker answered weakly, flopped out on them. At least the discomfort lessened with all the laughing and joking, so he could try to go back to recharge. 

But by the next light cycle it was back, only intensifying even more until he could hardly hide it from his mates. He didn’t want to stop them from their enthusiastic preparations and make them focus on him fully – after all the coming event was the first of its kind since… since far too long to remember. Starscream wanted to muster the Seekers, all of them who survived the war, be them Decepticons, Autobots or Neutrals. So he sent messages to every corner of the universe, calling every Seeker to Earth and they started flocking there in groups and individuals over the last few weeks.

Earth was decided as the place for it, since Cybertron was barely livable and the atmospheric conditions made flying a dangerous exercise in the best of times. Their home had to be Earth for a while with its abundant resources, at least until they could manage to colonize another suitable planet – and in time rebuild their home. But that was vorns and vorns away and Starscream saw the number of broken Trines and the lone survivors, their glitching existence made even worse by the awakening sparkling codes – and decided that a full muster and the attendant socializing would make the best opportunities for the survivors to find new mates, friends, Trines. 

Thundercracker fully approved of it, knowing that before they could start to rebuild Vos, they had to rebuild Seeker society. An ironic smile drew his lipplates at the thought that he himself has already started doing his part in the latter. But that thought made him feel the burning itch again and Thundercracker leaned forward, curling on himself, massaging his cockpit… but nothing seemed to help. No, he wouldn’t call Starscream, he was far too busy. Skywarp’s comm was offline, meaning he was probably up to no good and the blue Seeker decided to look for him. Maybe flying would help the newsparks to settle too. 

It was good to live under clear skies again, he mused as he left the hangar – the sunken spaceship was no fit place for Seekers and out of question for Seekerlings to grow up in. Megatron could insist on staying there for his pride, but he couldn’t stop the Seekers from moving out. The abandoned airfield and former military base the Humans gave to them wasn’t the best – the area was cold, the buildings and runways in a catastrophic condition, requiring a lot of work – but still better than the claustrophobic feel of the Nemesis. Right now every Seeker was out, building new accomodations for the newcomers – only he got exempted from the work, because of his condition.

Their own hangar was at a slight rise, from where he could overlook the whole airfield with its pathetic runways, the crude hangars thrown up for the newcomers on his left and the newly built banks of solar converters to the right. The latter gave part of their energon stores – the other part was supplied by the Autobots as per the agreement. It was fortunate that they had this, because the newsparks for some reason ‘hated’ the taste of the Autobot-made energon with its strong, biting taste of magma and heavy earthen elements. The solar energon was lighter, less energizing but much more agreeable to his systems. Which reminded him…

Thundercracker ducked back to the hangar to pick up two of the said energon cubes, draining the first quickly and sipping the second a bit slower as he left again, in search of Skywarp. He’d promised his mates never to leave underfuelled and he would keep that promise. Much as he didn’t want to carry initially, he would never endanger their sparklings. It was still so unbelievable to feel the symptoms, the signs of the slowly growing newsparks, the continuous heat in his gestation chamber from the forging… all the signs that told him that he was going to have Seekerlings soon.

He, Thundercracker. Who had never given a single thought for that, never believed it would come to this. Theoretically, he had always known that it would be his role in the Trine, but before the war they were young, neither of them wanting to have sparklings yet. They had enjoyed life too much for that, their unusual roles in the Trine and what came out of it. Sparklings remained something to see when visiting relatives and other Trines, curious little creatures that evoked the urge to protect… but never the urge to have some. 

Then, the war came and with it the horrors of seeing not only mechs, Seekers and grounders alike, but _sparklings_ deactivated, torn, mangled and burned within the ruins of destroyed cities… and their sparkling protocols were buried so deeply that neither of them thought of it for gigavorns. The loss of so many Seekers and Trines had tickled their survival senses, their urge to continue their frametype – but while it was war there was no reality for that. Thundercracker remembered his well-hidden and somewhat ashamed relief that he would not be called to perform his function… probably ever as the war seemed endless and their racial survival a moot question. 

By the time the peace came about he managed to completely forget about his role as a Carrier. Starscream was the Trine-leader and they’ve never questioned that, but the tricolour Seeker was as much a sub as they came. Add to that Skywarp’s easygoing nonchalance towards any set roles and it made all too easy for him to be the dominant of the Trine, the role he felt the most natural in. He never felt comfortable taking it in the valve. Not painful, not traumatic… just unpleasant. That is, until he got into heat…

The peace treaty and the awakening of the reproductive codes literally pulled the ground from under his pedes and set him into a position he didn’t enjoy. Not only he had to wrap his processor around the fact of carrying but also to withstand the manipulating of his mates… and it always made him feel wretched when he saw their poorly hidden disappointment at his loud and definite protests. Their manipulations and courting was nice… when he could forget why they were doing it. 

But in the end he couldn’t hold out. It was a lost cause from the beginning, deep down the blue Seeker knew; but he still tried the impossible, to deny his own coding. He still felt ambivalent about the sparklings. Yes, he wanted them, loved them already and would do anything to protect them… but why did it have to be him to carry them? Why couldn’t Starscream carry? The tricolour was the sub, not himself. But as soon as the thought came, his carrier codes rebelled with a faint nausea. A Sire carrying? Thundercracker shook a little, clearing his processor. There was no point in wishing what was impossible… and a moot question anyway, since it was already himself carrying… _four _newsparks.__

__That gave him another reason to worry. Four was an unlucky number. Three brothers could make a perfect trine, especially with their gifts; four usually resulted two pairs, both of which would find their third with difficulties as they were close to each other and picky about any who could complement them into a full Trine. Or there could be a Trine within the four and a single Seeker, who, like Starscream himself would always be a loner, and find his own Trine the hard way, never fully integrating. So neither was an optimal scenario._ _

__No wonder Seekers usually kindled in threes. But noooooo, he had to be different in this too. Or rather his mates, his Sires had to make it different and kindle four newsparks – and one of them a latecomer too, smaller, weaker, in a little danger had the other three decided to detach early while the last one wasn’t ready for it. Ratchet assured him that there was only a little chance for that, but Thundercracker still queued up that particular worry in his processor, among the many others._ _

__But he was careful and meticulous, keeping every rule and caution he was given with care. In this, it was the best that he was the one to carry; Starscream was still reckless, no matter how much he’s calmed down since the war ended, and given to fancy, grand gestures, dangerous stunts that would endanger the sparklings… and it was better not to even mention Skywarp as a Carrier. Even the idea of it was giving the blue Seeker the creeps. Nah, if one of them had to carry, the newsparks were still the safest with him. Which, Thundercracker suddenly realized was why he was the Trine’s carrier… there had to be more to it than strong plating to defend the sparklings._ _

__Thundercracker nodded to himself, musing finished for now and resumed walking down towards the half-ready hangars, waving to the Seekers around, only some of whom he knew personally. They knew him of course – Starscream personally made sure that all newcomers were clear about his status and condition. The Air Commander didn’t want any accidents or misunderstandings to occur. But Skywarp wasn’t among the hangars or the airfield itself and Thundercracker doubted that any mech would send their less than scientifically inclined mate to work on the solar panels. That meant either flying or be on or near the Ark again, doing mischief as only Skywarp could._ _

__The blue Seeker sped up his steps to jump into the air, and actually made the last, running step, before stopping suddenly and digging his heel into the ground, growling inwardly. Not that way. It was far less glorious to fold carefully into his alt-mode, taxi slowly to the runway, sped up on the bumpy surface and lift off… but it was safer and less taxing on his gestational tank and the subprocessors that dealt with that process. At least flying was still the same. More or less._ _

__He found Skywarp a few hundred hics out of the island coast, comm shut down, because he escaped from his assigned duties, but very eager to play once he noticed Thundercracker coming. It was rare any more for any two of them to be together without their third mate and Skywarp exulted in having Thundercracker alone. After a lot of blatant flirting, the not-very-much-hidden intent in his field and his own codes urging him to accept the transfluid donation from his Sire-mate, the blue Seeker acquiesced, grumbling only a little and half-sparkedly at that._ _

__They landed on a little islet, barely more than a rock in the sea, its jagged protrusions drenched in the wind-blown sea-water and the rain of the coming storm, cold and generally uncomfortable – if not for blue Seeker’s always fever-hot systems that actually welcomed the amount of cooling they got here. And Skywarp made some very compelling arguments with digits, glossa and his frame rubbing, petting and caressing his eager one. It wasn’t long before the blue panel snapped open and his generously lubricating valve felt the cold air around them._ _

__Not for long, because Skywarp was as horny as only Seeker Sires in heat could be and there was really no need for foreplay with the carrying Seeker constantly ready for a frag. The thick, black spike pushed in eagerly into the tight heat and Thundercracker let his helm drop back onto the rain-blackened, wet rocks, moaning loudly and holding Skywarp close, chest-plates fused together, pelvises rocking against each other. It was pure bliss, the Well of Allsparks itself and his codes sang in sated pleasure._ _

__Then Skywarp started to thrust and it became even better, the pleasure rising in waves around him while cold air cooled their frames. Wind-blown rainwater hissed as it evaporated on fever-hot plating, blackish rocks crumbled under heaving metallic frames, while scratching long lines into their paints… and Skywarp rammed into him with long, deep, forceful strokes, making his sensory nodes flare and sing with loving, satisfying pleasure, his spark spin faster and faster…_ _

__His newsparks, never very calm even the best of times were soaking up the coding their Sire gave them and danced around their joined sparks, bathing in the chaotic swirl of their joined energies. Their tiny, but excited fields pulsed love and content to them and the two Seekers sent back awe and a promise to _love/protect/care_ to the little ones even as their charge rose to unimaginable heights._ _

__It was so fast, so high, it couldn’t last long. With a roar to contend with that of the storm Skywarp rammed deep and held tight onto Thundercracker as their sparks exploded in bliss. His transfluid spurted into the valve, none dripping out now, all of it siphoned into the gestation tank, where the small frame-pods were forged. They nearly fused together, their frames were so hot, despite of the storm raging around them and Skywarp embraced Thundercracker so tightly it was almost uncomfortable._ _

__It took them quite some breem to come down from their dazed heights and even just consider letting each other go… and by the time they did, there was a tricoloured frame standing over them, balancing precariously on jagged rock, wearing a mock-insulted grin on his dark faceplates, servos on cherry red hips while his wings flared high and wide in a display of _winglord/trine-leader/sire_ display. His voice held laughter and lust while trying to stay stern and disapproving – and failing in it._ _

__“Without me?”_ _


End file.
